The present invention relates to a carrier for transporting vehicles by placing a vehicle on a platform deck, or bed, and transporting that vehicle to a desired location.
In some situations, it is desirable to carry a vehicle, as opposed to towing that vehicle in a conventional manner. These situations include when the vehicle to be towed is severely damaged and perhaps missing an axle or when the owner of an automobile wishes to transport the same over a greater than average distance. The carrier found in the prior art typically includes a platform deck or bed carried on a truck chassis. The bed is capable of moving rearwardly away from the chassis and can then incline down to the ground into a vehicle loading position. In the vehicle loading position, the bed forms a ramp onto which the vehicle can be winched, driven, or placed thereon by other conventional techniques.
At the present time, there are several disadvantages associated with the prior art to which this patent application is addressed. For example, it is crucial that the angle between the bed and the ground be as small as possible. This angle is known as the approach or load angle. The lower the angle of incline on the bed, the easier it becomes to load a vehicle to be towed, especially given modern vehicles low ground clearance and the longer nose of older automobiles. Given the variety of different vehicle configurations, a lower bed angle, or approach angle, is desirable.
In the past, carrier operators have solved the problem of approach angles with make-shift methods such as ramps and wood planks. These are cumbersome and difficult to store.
Another problem associated with the prior art is that the winch cable which may be used to pull the vehicle to be towed onto the bed is often undirected and given the variety of approach angles necessary, the winch cable may cause damage to the vehicle to be towed. Although hinged beds have been used in Europe primarily, they did not have the benefits of a conventional deck and caused severe damage with their cables should a tow hook not be provided on the automobile. Two hooks are uncommon on automobiles in the United States and damage is common with a winch cable. This problem is exasperated with the addition in modern automotive design of low profile automobiles having ground effects such as air dams which could interfere in the direction of the cable.
The present invention is directed to a uniquely constructed carrier that overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art devices. The present invention is a car carrier that includes a bed that is hinged or articulable such that the approach angle of the carrier is substantially minimized. Because the bed of the present invention is hinged, the rear plate of the bed can be moved to a position adjacent the vehicle to be towed in a lower angle than that found in the prior art. In addition, because the bed is hinged, a cable guide is provided that directs the cable along the bed, thereby eliminating any interference with ground effects of the vehicle to be towed. The bed can also be locked in a position for use as a conventional carrier. The carrier is outfitted conventionally to include a wheel lift or underlift for towing a second automobile and the advantages are achieved by means of a relatively simple and cost effective, reliable design. As a result, the carrier of the present invention provides damage free operation and is more versatile than known prior art carriers.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a carrier whereby a vehicle to be towed may be loaded and moved so that no additional damage will result to the vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a carrier that includes a bed capable of reducing the load or approach angle when a vehicle to be towed is loaded.
A further object of this invention is to provide a carrier with a cable guide so that winch cable used to load the vehicle to be towed onto the bed cannot cause further damage thereto.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a carrier that can be use in a conventional manner, as well as in a hinged fashion.